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DAVID G. BURNET 
SIDNEY SHERMAN 



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DAUGHTERS 
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MEMORIAL 



UNVEILING CEREMONIES 



MONUMENT 



David G. Burnet and Sidney Sherman 



SIDNEY SHERMAN CHAPTER 
Daughters of the Republic of Texas. 



GALVESTON: 

CLARKE & COURTS, STATIONERS, PRINTERS AND LITHOGRAPHERS. 
1894. 






Gift 

Tiic Society 

20^ '05 



UNVEILING CEREMONIES 



Monument to David G. Burnet and Sidney Sherman 



Galveston, Texas, Friday, March 2, 1894. 



All interestiug and iuiportaut event took place on the 2d of 
March, at Lake View Cemetery, in the unveiling of the monu- 
ment over the graves of David G. Burnet, first President of the 
Eepublic of Texas, and General Sidney Sherman, one of the 
heroes of the battle of San Jacinto, by the Sidney Sherman 
chapter, Daughters of the Eepul>lic of Texas. 

It is in a spirit of proper pride, not boasting, that attention 
is called to the fact that the idea of the organization of the 
Daughters of the Eepublic originated in Galveston; its first 
chapter was formed here, and on Friday, March 2, its first mon- 
ument was unveiled. This chapter was organized in N'ovember, 
1891, at the residence of Mrs. J. M. O. Menard. Eight ladies 
were present, and the following officers were elected: Mrs, 
Menard, President; Mrs. Mott, Vice President; Miss Hill, Secre- 
tary and Treasurer. 

The chapter was named in honor of General Sherman, one of 
the bravest soldiers of our revolution, whose home for many 
years was in Galveston, and whose sou, in 1863, gave his life in 
its defense. 

Mrs. Menard's health failed, and in November, 1892, the 
chapter was reorganized, with the following officers: Miss Bettie 
Ballinger, President; Mrs. M. F. Mott, Vice President; Mrs. M. 
LeC. Britton, Treasurer; Mrs. C. M. Kemp, Secretary. 



4 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

Forty-four members have been enrolled, and active measures 
are being pursued with a view of enlisting in the cause every 
eligible person within the territory allotted to this chapter. 

There are seven chapters now in existence: San Jacinto, of 
Houston; William B, Travis, of Austin; Sam Houston, of Lam- 
pasas; Stephen F. Austin, of Brazoria; , of Breuham; and 

De Zavalla, of San Antonio. 

All women over 18 years of age, lineal descendants of those 
who did service, civil or military, for the Eepublic of Texas, are 
eligible to membership. 

Sidney Sherman chapter took for its first work the removal of 
the bodies of President Burnet and General Sherman from Mag- 
nolia Grove to Lake View Cemetery, the care of their graves, 
and ultimate erection of a monument over them. Lake View 
Cemetery Association donated a lot for this purjjose, and friends 
both in and out of the city have shown much liberality, which 
has been appreciated by the chapter. 

INCEPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION. 

Miss Hallie B. Bryan and Miss Bettie Ballinger, in the sum- 
mer of 1891, reading together Yoakum's History of Texas, con- 
ceived the idea of establishing an association of the female 
descendants of the men of '36. Encouraged by Hon. Guy M. 
Bryan, President of the State Veterans' Association, they went 
to Houston and were introduced by him to Mrs. Anson Jones 
and Mrs. Andrew Briscoe, both of whom approved of the plan. 
The organization took place in the fall at the residence of Mrs. 
Briscoe, representatives from Galveston, Brazoria and Harris 
counties being present. The name adopted was Daughters of 
the Lone Star Eepublic, which was later changed to the present 
name at Lampasas in April, when the first general meeting was 
held with the Veterans. 

The officers elected at Houston were : j\Irs. Anson Jones, 
President ; Mrs. Briscoe, Mrs. W. P. Ballinger and Mrs. W. E. 



TO DAVID G. B UK NET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. o 

Keudall, Vice Presidents ; ]Mrs. E. H. Vasmer, Secretary, and 
Miss Belle Feun, Treasurer. 

These officers Lave, with the substitution of Miss Lane of 
Marshall for Mrs. Ballinger, remained unchanged. 

It was at first intended to admit only descendants of men 
who were in Texas before and during the revolution of '30, but 
the limit was extended to include all who had given service to 
the Kepublic of Texas. 

The object of the Daughters of the Eepublic is to perpetuate 
the memories and deeds of the heroes of the Eepublic of Texas 
and the men who administered the government, either in a civil 
or military capacity. Texas must remain one and indivisible. 

Sidney Sherman chapter is composed of the following named 
ladies: 



Mrs. 


H. P. Ballinger 


Mrs. 


T. J. Groce 


Mrs. E. S. Wood 


Mrs. 


A. G. Mills 


Mrs. 


R. W. Shaw 


Mrs. Eugene Mouton 


Mrs. 


H. C. Stone 


Mrs. 


J. A. Hurd 


Mrs. G. W.Mayes 


Mrs. 


G. D. Briggs 


]\Irs. 


G. H. Mensing 


Mrs. F. D. Minor 


Mrs. 


Is. LeClere 


Mrs. 


James Spillane 


Mrs. W. F. Breath 


Mrs. 


M. LeC. Brittou 


Mrs. 


L. A. Lockhart 


Miss Laura Austin 


Mrs. 


C. M. Kemp 


Mrs. 


M. F. Mott 


Miss Sue Menard 


Mrs. 


C. L. Wallis 


Mrs. 


AV. Gresliam 


Miss Maggie Jones 


Mrs. 


H. A. Landes 


Mrs. 


R. S. AVillis 


Miss Bettie Ballinger 


Mrs. 


W. S. Andrews 


Mrs. 


C. M. Mason 


Miss Rebecca Garlick 


Mi-s. 


B. M. Temple 


]\Irs. 


R. V. Davidson 


Miss Emelie Labadie 


Mrs. 


J. A. Owens 


Mrs. 


James Findley 


Miss Ruth Phelps 


Mrs. 


N. Weekes 


Mrs. 


Hunter Griffin 


Miss Lillian INIott 


Mrs. 


J. M. 0. Menard 


Mrs. 


S. D. Calder 


Miss Anna Jones 


Mrs. 


L. Fell man 


Mrs. 


M. A. Lund 


Miss Hill 


Mrs. 


E. Randall 


Mrs. 


C. A. Horsley 





Mrs. Anson Jones, President of the State organization, was 
expected to be present, but owing to her unfortunate feeble 
condition, was unable to attend. She is the widow of the last 
President of the Eepublic. 

Mrs. William J. Jones and Miss Maggie Jones are the wife 
and daughter of Judge William J. Jones, who was District 
Judge of the Texas Eepublic and one of the Supreme Court 
Judges. 



6 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Briggs are daughters of Judge E. T. 
Branch, who was a member of the First and Second Congresses 
of the Republic, District and Supreme Judge of the Eepublic of 
Texas, and a soldier of San Jacinto. 

Mrs. S. D. Calder is a daughter of Mirabeau Lamar, Presi- 
dent of the Eepublic of Texas. 

Mrs. J. M. O. Menard and Mrs. William Kendall are daugh- 
ters of General Sidney Sherman, the commander of the left wing 
at the battle of San Jacinto. Mrs. Lucy Sherman Craig is an- 
other daughter, who came from Kentucky to be present at the 
ceremonies. 

Miss Sue Sherman Menard is a granddaughter of General 
Sherman. 

Mrs. W. P. Ballinger is a daughter of Colonel W. H. Jack, 
who was a member of both sessions ot Congress. 

Miss Ballinger is a granddaughter of Colonel Jack. 

Mrs. R. V. Davidson is a daughter of Colonel Thomas Jack. 

Mrs. C. M. Kemp is a granddaughter of Judge B. C. Frank- 
lin, who was a District and Supreme Judge of the Republic. 



CLl^c (£ercmonic5 of tl]c Day- 



A NOTABLE BREAKFAST. 

Bright and beautiful dawned the morning of March 2, 1894, 
and bright and beautiful appeared the Daughters of the Re- 
public as they gathered at the Garten Verein for the purpose of 
welcoming their friends and guests, in the early morning hours. 

The early train of the Santa Fe brought a large excursion 
party from Houston to attend the celebration, among whom were 
the daughters of many of the old and honored heroes of 1836, 
who were killed in the battle of San Jacinto. 



TO DAJVD G. BUR^^ET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 7 

The members of the San Jacinto chapter from Houston and 
their invited guests were met at the train by a committee of two, 
Mesdames Landes and Stone, from Sidney Sherman chapter of 
this city, and escorted to the Garten Verein, and after a pleasant 
hour passed in social chat, the way was led to the veranda of the 
casino, where a dainty and bountiful breakfast had been spread. 
There ,were chairs for over sixty, and each one was taken. 

The spacious grounds had been prepared and before the ap- 
pointed hour were well filled with the ladies and the few gentle- 
men who had been specially favored. 

Guests from Houston were: Mrs. J. R. Fenn, President of 
the San Jacinto chapter; Mrs. M. E. Burleigh and Mrs. W. E. 
Kendall, Vice Presidents; Miss Jennie Hunter, Secretary; Mrs. 
]M. Looscan, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the General 
Society of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and Mesdames 
M. J. Briscoe, John E. Gary, R. G. Ashe, M. G. Howe, C. H. 
Milby, C. Hume, J. J. McKeever, Jr., John F. Dickson, J. Pier- 
son Smart, Elizabeth J. Cox, J. W. Campbell, Norman Kittrell, 
Mrs. Eosine Ryan of Austin, representing William B. Travis 
chapter of that city, and Misses Annie Hume, Belle Fenn, Maida 
McLeod, Bessie Howe of Massachusetts, niece of Captain M. G. 
Howe, and Colonel J. R. Fenn, Major John E. Gary, Judge 
Norman Kittrell, J. J, McKeever, Jr., Colonel Wm. Brady, 
Major M. Looscan. 

Among the notables were: 

Mrs. John R. Fenn, President of the San Jacinto chapter of 
the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and her daughters, Mrs. 
J. J. McKeever, Jr., and Miss Belle Fenn. Colonel Fenn, her 
husband, rendered valuable services to the Republic's struggle 
for independence. Mrs. Fenn's relatives were among the first to 
locate in Texas, and her husband's grandfather was the first to 
explore the Brazos river. 

Mrs. John E. Gary, whose father and mother were among the 
earliest settlers of Texas, and who rendered valuable services to 
the cause of Texan independence. 



8 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

Mrs. R. G. Ashe, daughter of Ausou Joues, the last President 
of the Republic of Texas. 

Mrs. M. J. Briscoe, a daughter of Mr^. John R. Harris, who 
was an early settler in Texas, and for whom Harris county was 
named. Her husband, Andrew Briscoe, was one of the signers 
of the declaration of independence of the Republic, and a cap- 
tain in the regulars in the battle of San Jacinto. 

Mrs. M. G. Howe and Mrs. M. Looscau, daughters of C'aptain 
Briscoe. 

Mrs. C. H. Milby, a daughter of Captain John Todd, who was 
a commander in the Texas navy. 

Mrs. J. W. Campbell, a daughter of F. Monroe Hardeman, 
who was at the battle of San Jacinto. 

Miss Jennie Hunter, a granddaughter of Dr. Johnson Hunter, 
who settled in Texas in 1822. 

Mrs. Rosine Ryan, the daughter of Judge Adolphus Stern, 
who came to Texas in 1827, and who was instrumental in forming 
the l^ew Orleans Grays. He provided guns and ammunition for 
them, and served as captain of one of the companies. Mrs. Ryan's 
mother was godmother to General Houston, who presented her 
with a valuable set of jewelry, which she afterward wore at the 
fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of independence. 

Governor Frank Lubbock, Dr. Bowers, Dr. John Lockhart, 
Judge N. G. Kittrell, Mr. J. R. Fenn, Mr. Si^ Ashe, Mayor 
Fly, Mr. James Spillaue and Mr. J. J. McKeever were guests of 
the morning. 

Stephen F. Austin chapter, of Brazoria, was represented by 
Mrs. Diggs. 

The reception committee at the Garten comprised Mesdames 
Landes, Mott, Stone, Briggs, Kemp, Weekes, Menard, Groce, 
Davidson, Temple, Wallis, Calder, Spillane, Owens; Misses 
Maggie Jones, Sue Menard, Ruth Phelps. 

The breakfiist was a most delightful one, and, being served as 
it was, on the veranda over which floated the delicious southern 
breeze, was an event to be long remembered by the Daughters. 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 9 

Caterer Ritter had outdone himself in his efforts to i^lease 
his gnests, and his menu was of the finest selection, as follows: 

Fruits assorted 

Fried Oysters 

Teuderloin of Trout, Sauce Tartar 

Croquettes of Potatoes 

Sliced Tomato(;s Celery 

Larded Quail, Baked, Madeira Sauce 

French Green Peas 

Olives Radishes Chow-Chow Pickles 

Cotfee Tea Chocolate IMilk 

Assorted Cake 

At the conclusion of the breakfast order was called, and 
Mrs. Eosine Eyan read a letter of regret from Mrs. Eebecca J. 
Fisher, President of William B. Travis chapter, after which the 
ladies repaired to the city preparatory to taking part in the ex- 
ercises of the afternoon. 

Mrs. Fisher wrote: 

Sidney Sherman Chapter., Daughters of the FepuMic of Texas: 

Accept my hearty congratulations for your success on this memorable 
occasion. I am deeply grieved that I am not permitted to be with you and enter 
into the glorious yet solemn and impi-essive ceremonies of this occasion. My 
heart is with you, and I bid you Godspeed in your noble work. Every citizen 
of Texas should gather inspiration from this occasion and lend their influence to 
further your efforts in perpetuating the memory of our illustrious dead. All 
honor and praise to Sidney Shennan chapter, the first among the Daughters in 
erecting monuments of their love and gratitude over the precious dust of those 
illustrious men, a fitting tribute to those grand old heroes who have stacked 
their arms and gone to rest. Those marble shafts proclaim in unmistakable 
language that the fire and patriotism which prompted the fathers and mothers 
of the Texas revolution to brave danger and go forth in the defense of home 
and native land, burns with the same ardor and patriotic zeal in the hearts of 
their noble daughters. How approi^riate that Galveston, the sea-girt isle, the 
queen city of the ocean, whose murmuring, trembling waves chant a requiem 
as the solemn dirge rolls on through endless years, and whose briny tears 
bedew the sacred sod, should be the resting place of those grand and noble 
heroes. President Burnet and General Sherman. Old ocean will ever keep 
vigil. Its pearly keys, touched by the divine hand, will continue to peal 
forth in rich, pathetic lays anthems of praise and victory as they dash in 
crystal splendor along the pebbled shore, where the jasmine and oleander 
waft their sweet perfume, and, mingling with the gentle zephyrs, lovingly caress 
the sacred dust. May your sister chapters profit by your noble example until 



10 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

shaft after shaft shall mount heavenward to mark the spot where all our 
heroes sleep. And Texas, this lovely Lone Star State, may she ever remain 
one and indivisible, a home for the wear3' pilgrim, where the blessing of God 
shall ever dwell. Mrs. Rebecca J. Fisher. 

THE PROCESSION. 

Promptly at 2:30 the procession, wbicli bad formed on Tremout 
street, moved in tlie following order: 

Mounted Police. 

Music. 

Carriages Containing Daughters of the Repu1)lic and Their Invited 

Guests' from the Interior. 

Clergymen Who Were to Deliver the Prayers. 

Mayor and Speakers, Hon. Norman G. Kittrell and Governor F. E. Lubbock. 

Board of Aldermen. 

Texas Veterans. 

Camp Magruder of Confederate Veterans. 

Marine Veterans of Confederate States Navy. 

W. S. Hancock Post, G. A. R. 

Military Companies in Command of Major J. B. Aguilo and Staff. 

School Children. 

Screwmen's Benevolent Association. 

Carpenters and Joiners. 

Painters and Decorators. 

Texas Labor Conference. 

Chief Wegner and Fire Department. 

The route as published was adhered to, and shortly after 3 
o'clock the cemetery was reached. The parade was marshaled 
by Captain Joe Owens, with Guy M. Bryan, Jr., John Stowe, 
Sid Williams, W. E. Johnson, L. M, Hitchcock, Ben Blum, H. 
A. Lemonius, John Settle, E. H. Gardner, J. K. Wallis, Charles 
F. Adrian ce, Thomas M. Jack, B. F. Hutches, Jr., and J. S. 
Skinner as assistants. 

The Orphan Asylum children were marched to the cemetery 
in a body. 

AT THE MONUMENT. 

As early as 1 o'clock the people began to assemble at Lake 
View Cemetery, and by the time the Daughters arrived every 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 11 

available seat was occupied except on the staud reserved for the 
chapters and their invited guests. By 2:30 all the lines of cars 
running- to the cemetery were crowded, and it is estimated that 
1000 people were present at the unveiling. A long line of car- 
riages was drawn up outside the walls of the cemetery. Fifteen 
cars were required by the Susie line to convey the Daughters and 
their friends. 

The exercises were opened by Mayor Fly's introduction of 
Bishop Gallagher, who delivered the opening prayer, which was 
concluded by the Lord's prayer, all joining. 

Dr. Fly then introduced as the orator of the day Judge Nor- 
man G. Kittrell, of Houston, who was warmly received. Fol- 
lowing is Judge Kittrell's eloquent address in full: 

DaugMers of the Ee;puhlic and Fellow Citizens: 

So long as admiration for heroic deeds and reverence for departed greatness 
find a place in the hearts of men, so long will the resting places of noble dead 
be hallowed in human sight. 

Monuments and mausoleums mark epochs in human history. 

Like the great fiower which, summoning all its powers, blossoms forth once 
in a century in glorious beauty, the intellectual and moral forces and loftier 
virtues of a people ever and anon at intervals find concentrated expression and 
noble impersonation in some grand character, whose deeds, the natural and 
logical product of inherent genius, virtue and patriotism, mark him as great 
among the sous of men, and who, when his course is ended, lives in the hearts 
of a proud and grateful people, who give to their pride and gratitude expression 
in towering monument and stately statue. 

That transcendent genius, the tread of whose conquering legions shook a 
continent, and whose achievements changed the map of Europe and wrought 
so much of glory for sunny France, sleeps beneath the majestic dome of the 
Invalides. 

England enshrined her Wellington in the sacred precincts of Westminster 
abbey. 

Within sight of the capitol of this great Nation there rises, like "a glory in 
the air," a mighty structure erected to perpetuate unto remotest posterity the 
name and fame of that great American ^^•hom history ranks as the foremost son 
of this young Republic, and whose tomb on the banks of the Potomac is the 
Mecca to which unnumbered thousands bend their reverent footsteps. 

Close by the James, in Virginia's historic capital, stands an equestrian 
statue of one no less great than his illustrioiis predecessor and prototype, and 
whom the historian of the future will name as the proudest product of all 
the ages. 



12 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

These illustrious ones were actors in dramas in eacli of which a continent 
was the stage and the world was the audience. Differing widely in intel- 
lectiial and moral characteristics, each of them left the impress of his personal 
greatness upon the age in which he lived, and perpetuation of their memory in 
marble and in bronze is but tribute just and honor fitly paid. 

Those to whose memories we this day do honor acted their parts on a more 
limited field of action, and their achievements under then existing conditions 
and with the then prevailing methods of communication were not so heralded 
to the world as Avere the deeds of those who followed them, and they therefore 
received not the reward of immediate renown Avhich they had so justly and 
nobly won. 

It appears to be often the misfortune of those who are truly great and to 
whom the world is debtor, that their genius and merits are not fully appre- 
ciated until they have passed beyond the reach of the voice of human i^raise or 
blame. Great, indeed, is he who is great in the eyes of his cotemporaries. 
AVe gather from Holy Writ that even he who combined within himself the ele- 
ments of the human and the divine Avas not Avholly exempt from the fate of 
many who were only and merely human. 

Around us of this younger generation we see on every side those whom 
the historian in after years will write down as men who for freedom and for 
native land did such deeds as mortals rarely do, and whom generations yet to 
come will rank with the heroes of Thermopylae and Balaklava; yet as they 
move among us in the walks of daily life Ave think of them as heroes; only, 
if at all, Avhen Ave look at them through "the mists of tears" springing from 
the hallowed memories of a glorious cause and of matchless sacrifice. 

We are even yet not sufficiently removed from the day and time of those 
who sleep around us in this sacred sod to properly appreciate their achieve- 
ments. Their fame has not yet reached the fullness of its stature. They 
suffer measurably a fate common to all men however great (except in instances 
most rare), who dwell with, or whose memories are yet fresh in the minds of 
their cotemporaries. There are among us yet many Avho knew some of them 
as citizens in the Avalks of daily life; who watched them as in honorable re- 
tirement they parsed their closing days; saw them "hearsed in death," and 
Avho folloAved their clay reverently to the tomb. 

HoAvever, Fame though often sIoav to bestoAV her laurels fails not sooner 
or later to place them on the brow which deserves the chaplet, and history 
will yet do full justice to the memories of those Avhose resting place this stately 
shaft Avill mark. 

It is in estimating the value of human achievements manifestly not just to 
consider only the immediate elements and incidents of the conflict in Avhich he 
who is judgeil Avasan actor; for it is not by men's acts alone, but by the re- 
sultant consequences that they can be justly judged, and the measure of fame 
to which they are entitled be properly meted out. Judged by this standard 
the heroes of the Texas rerolution may safely challenge comparison of their 
deeds in council and in the field with any of Avhich history makes record. 

The conflict which resulted in the sundering of the bonds of political union 
Avith Mexico and the establishment of the Republic of Texas was in some re- 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 13 

spelts the most remarkable in the annals of war. Seldom has a struggle for 
national independence been made against greater odds, and rarely has one ap- 
peared in its incipieucy more hopeless. 

For every revolution there is a rea.son, for every rebellion an excuse; and 
if it were necessary to offer justification for the revolt of Texas against the gov- 
ernment of Mexico, it would not be necessary to philosophize or search deeply 
to prove that justification complete. But there is never required at the hands 
of freemen excuse for revolt against oppression. When a people is stirred by an 
inherited love of liberty and a longing for national independence and local 
self-government, that natural and heaven-born desire justifies a disregard of all 
bonds or ties of governmental union, and the use of all means consistent with 
civilized warfare to advance its high design, and beyond such aspiration for 
freedom and independence it need furnish to history no other ground or basis 
for its action. 

As I have before taken occasion to say, in substantially the language of 
history, "The Texas revolution was an inevitable result flowing from causes 
that rendered longer duration of political union with Mexico not only impracti- 
cable, but impossible. 

"There had been attracted to Texas at this early day, from the different 
States of the American Union, many men of courage, ability, education and 
capacity for affairs of government. They were representative Americans, and 
filled with that love of political and religious freedom which characterizes the 
American wherever found. Between such men as these and their Spanish 
fellow citizens, Avho, to a great extent, had been reared under and were wedded 
to monarchical institutions, there could be no bonds of sympathj^ or unity of 
purpose or endeavor. The one believed in liberty regulated by law; the other 
in a government of force. The former contended for constitutional and local 
self-government; the latter tor a centralized republic, based upon the will of a 
dictator and supported by the bayonet. The Spaniard believed in a union of 
Church and State; the American in their entire separation and an absolute 
freedom of conscience in all matters of religious faith and practice. That, 
from the friction of such opposing views, the fires of revolution were soon gen- 
erated, is not surprising. That revolution began with the disaster and gloom 
of the Alamo and Goliad, and ended with the triumph and glory of San Jacinto. 

"The superficial observer who rates the importance of battles by the num- 
bers engaged and the casualties of the conflict may sueer at San Jacinto and 
declare it unworthy to be ranked with the noted battles of the world, but by the 
philosophic student of history, who applies to it the only true and reasonable 
test of importance, the odds of the struggle and the consequences directly and 
proximately flowing therefrom, it will be considered one of the most memor- 
able military engagements of modern times, and one of the decisive battles 
of history. 

"It is estimated that the entire population of Texas at that time did not 
exceed 30,000, while that of Mexico was at least 7,000,000. Texas, having 
had no independent political existence, had no organized army, no munitions 
of war and no tried and trusted leaders, while Mexico was a centralized des- 
potism, with an army thoroughly drilled and equipped, and commanded by 



14 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

the ruler of the Mexican Nation, who was able and experienced both in the 
council and in the field. Despite these odds that army, nearly twice as large 
as the Texas force, was utterly routed and its commander captured, while the 
number left by it dead on the field nearly equaled the entire body of its an- 
tagonists, and approximated to eighty times the loss by the latter sustained in 
the engagement. 

"From that battle resulted immediately the independence of Texas and its 
establishment as a Eei>ublic, that received promptly due and formal recogni- 
tion at the hands of the leading governments of the world. Nine years later 
followed annexation to the United States, directly resulting from which was the 
war with Mexico and the acquisition by the United States of the great territory 
of the w^est and the extension of the national jurisdiction to the Pacific ocean. 

"In view of these facts, it may be safely asserted that from few battles of 
modern times have results so far-reaching and important flowed since Corn- 
wallis surrendered on the plains of Yorktown. 

"The victory at San Jacinto placed under the control of the enlightened 
and progressive American a territory containing at that time an area of more 
than 350,000 square miles, blessed with nearly every variety of soil and climate, 
and possessing every physical element and characteristic necessary to the main- 
tenance in comfort and prosperity of an enterprising and progressive popula- 
tion. It was, and is indeed, as fair and goodly a land as ever God gave as 
a heritage to man since Israel's hosts by Jordan stood and across its tide in 
rapture gazed upon the Canaan that lay smiling in beauty beyond. 

"The star of the young Republic that rose above that historic field cast a 
light along the pathway of civilization that Avill gleam and glance and radiate 
adown the centuries. With brightness undimmed by transfer into the starry 
symbol of the Union, it shines yet a beacon light to guide the restless thou- 
sands of humanity who are pouring into Texas with their wealth and treasures 
and industry and intelligence and virtue and good citizen.ship, as shone the 
Star in the East to guide the wandering Magi, with their gifts of gold and 
frankincense and myrrh, to Bethlehem's manger, where slept the infant Lord. 
Even now — 

" ' I hear the tread of pioneers, 
Of nations yet to be ; 
The first low wash of Avaves where soon 
Shall roll a human sea.' " 

Therefore, Ave can truly say that the victory achieved on San Jacinto's 
historic field by Sherman and Jack and their compatriots Avas one the im- 
portance of Avhich each revolving year \\\\\ make more apparent, and the 
effects of which Avill be felt in times so far distant that the historian Avho Avill 
record them is yet unborn. 

Those above Avhom this monument is erected, and those who sleep else- 
Avhere in Texas soil, Avere illustrious co-laborers in a common and glorious 
cause, and to the fulfillment of high designs each conspicuously and unselfishly 
contributed. 

That among men of character so pronounced and intellects of such vigor, 
engaged in the promotion of great enterprises, there should have arisen conflicts 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 15 

of opinions and divergence of views, was reasonably to be expected; and if there 
were engendered between any of them aught of jealousies or alienation, such 
results are not surprising; but so luminous have they made the pages of his- 
tory by their great achievements that we read thereon naught but lines of light 
and glory, and as we draw near and contemplate with pride their heroic char- 
acters, we lose sight of the venial laults incident to their humanity and see 
only the loftier qualities whereby they were set apart and marked as heroes, 
even as we pay no heed to the pebbles upon the mighty mountain side as we 
stand enrapt in awe before it, and behold it with peak uplifted above the en- 
circling clouds and bathed in eternal sunshine. 

These men were not all geniuses. They were not intellectual phenomena, 
but they proved equal to the demands of a great emergency, and judged by the 
only just and true measure and standard, their surroundings, the dangers and 
difficulties with which they contended, and the results that flowed from and 
followed upon their action, they rank high on the roll of those who have ad- 
vanced civilization and promoted the cause of human liberty. They sought no 
ephemeral fame. They neither desired nor expected to dazzle and surprise the 
world by deeds fruitless of consequences and barren of benefits to their fellow- 
men . They waged no war of conciuest They were prompted by no selfish 
ambition. They were actuated by no mercenary motives. While they were 
no doubt to a proper extent inspired with the laudable desire to win by their 
deeds a name and fame of which their posterity might be proud, yet the free- 
dom and independence of Texas was their supreme and sublime desire, and never 
did men enter into such a conflict with purposes more patriotic nor in a spirit 
of greater self-consecration to their country and its cause. While with a mod- 
esty only equaled by their merits they made no claim to possession of the ac- 
quirements of profound statesmanship or the gifts of diplomacy, nor to be 
learned or skilled in the science of war, yet they demonstrated to the world that 
in all the elements necessary to the accomplishment of a maximum of results 
with a minimum of means, they were indeed men of heroic mold. 

They were men of brawn and brain, earnest in purpose, strong in intellect, 
wise in council and brave in battle. They weighed all the probabilities and 
possibilities of the conflict. They saw before them, if success crowaied their 
efforts, the fulfillment of that splendid vision which had filled their waking 
dreams, the redemption from despotism of their adopted land and its establish- 
ment as an independent sovereignty among the nations of the earth. They 
knew if failure followed that there awaited them the inevitable and inexorable 
fate of death or a dungeon. But their's were not the natures to pale before 
peril when their country called, and before no tyrant trembling and by no dan- 
ger daunted, they faced freedom's foes with fearless front, and by their .skill, 
courage and devotion established a young republic, and proving themselves as 
wise in statesmanship as they had been invincible in battle, they guided its 
destiny with consummate skill until it became a state of the American Union; 
and we who stand above their dust to-day, are heirs to the matchless inher- 
itance bequeathed us by their courage and unselfish patriotism. 

Therefore may we with just and pardonable pride recite the deeds of 
Burnet and Houston and Austin and Sherman and Jack and all who with them 



16 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OE THE MONUMENT 

served and suflered, and we do honor ourselves as ixpon this liistoric anniver- 
sary we dedicate to their memories this towering shaft,* not purer or more 
spotless than their lives, and which, so long as its graceful outlines shall l)e 
reflected upon the bosom of yonder gulf, shall tell to all who hither come, that 
here heroes sleep, and that this is hallowed ground. 

The demands of this commercial and utilitarian age upon the time and 
energies of men furnish to them ready excuse for non performance of those high 
ol)ligations which sentiment and patriotism suggest, hut which bring no sordid 
gain or pecuniary profit; but woman acknowledges no such servile su])mission 
to the despotism of the dollar, nor is she willing to sacrifice the jewels of her 
country's history at the shrine of Mammon. Prompted by a patriotism that 
challenges the highest admiration, and l)y a love of Texas that knows no limit, 
the members of Sidney Sherman chapter of the Daughters of the Eepuldic, in 
whose veins flows the blood of the heroes Avhose fame it will perpetuate, have 
by patience an,d devotion untiring erected this memorial, which honors alike 
the dead above whose dust it stands and the noble women to whose unselfish 
labor the people of Texas are indebted for its erection, and which in mute elo- 
quence attests unto all mankind that this spot is henceforth and forever to pa- 
triotic memories set apart and consecrate, 

" For earth has no holier ground 
Than where departed valor lies 
By mourning beauty crowned." 

Galveston has a peculiar interest in this monument, not only because of its 
location and because it is the result of the labor of her daughters, but because 
there are among her citizens those who claim descent and lineage from those to 
Avhose memories we this day do honor. Worthy sons and daughters of noble 
sires, they are honored and beloved as well for their own virtues as for the 
reverent pride felt in the character and fame of those from whose loins they are 
descended. 

At the name of Jack -what mind in this presence does not turn to the time, 
a few short years ago, when there moved among the people of this city, in 
knightly grace and dignity, honored and beloved by all, gracious, kind and 
gentle alike to the rich and the poor, the black and the white, the humble and 
the exalted— that accomplished lawyer, that chivalric soldier, that prince 
among men, "the finest gentleman alive," Thomas McKinney Jack. 

I doubt not that every man and woman who claims kinship, however 
remote, with "one, even the least of these, " glories in the fact. As for myself, I 
rejoice to know that there flows in the veins of my children blood kindred to 
that which flowed in the veins of that heroic son of Tennessee who flung him- 
self with such impetuous ardor into the struggle for Texan independence and 
who hallowed the Alamo by his devotion and consecrated it with his blood. 



* At this point the monument was unveiled by Miss Sue Sherman Menard, 
grand-daughter of General Sidney Sherman. 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 17 

Dwell as we may npou the deeds of the patriots of the Texas revolution, yet 
all they did, or we may do, will have been and be in vain if we treasure not 
in our hearts that sentiment which in their hearts overcame all others, and 
which was their daily praj^er, their deep desire, yea, their imperative com- 
mand, which rests upon us with deep and solemn emphasis, and obedience to 
which rises to the dignity of a duty — that Texas must through all time remain 
as they l^equeathed her to us, undivided and indivisible. 

Thanks ])e to God, that sentiment dwells and abides deep down in the 
heart of every true son and daughter of Texas. If it has been in any degree 
lessened or weakened by addition to our population of those who are unable 
to shai-e with us in our pride in Texas and in the glories of her early historj^, 
it is yet so potent that there is not a man within her limits so strong in public 
esteem, or so entrenched in popular affection, who woi;ld not, if he dare sug- 
gest division of Texas and offer himself for the suffrage of her people with that 
sentiment as a part of his political creed, be overwhelmed by a deluge of pop- 
ular indignation and be buried beyond hoi)e of political resurrection. 

Texas can not l)e divided, or her majestic proportions be lessened or marred 
save by her .sovereign consent, and her people rest serene in the confidence that 
the day when that consent will be given is so far distant that scheming politi- 
cians have no calculus whereby to compute the time of its coming, and they 
give to the world their assurance that Texas will never present the mournful 
and pathetic spectacle of the suicide of a sovereign State. 

As we turn from this sacred spot to-day, my countrymen, let us each and 
all before God and these witnesses, vow, by the graves of those who sleep here, 
by the memories of a glorious past, and by the hopes of that future before 
Avhose splendid possibilities "even fancy staggers," that as Texas was be- 
queathed to us, so wnll we in all the majestic proportions of an imperial com- 
monwealth, transmit her from sire to son and from dame to daughter unto 
those who shall come after us through all the changing years till the calendar of 
Time shall tell no further day. 

LoDii' demonstratioDS of approval followed the completion of 
Judge Kittrell's remarks, and he was warmly congratulated on 
every side. 

An excellent selection was given by the band. 

Dr. Fly, in a few well chosen words, the humor of which was 
highly appreciated by the audience, next presented ex-GoAcrnor 
F. E. Lubbock. 

The Governor said: 

I came unprepared to make a speech, liut as the honor has been conferred 
upon me by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, I will do the best I can. 
I want it distinctly understood that I do not call this a speech, for after Judge 
Kittrell has delivered his magnificent oration it leaves no ground or sub- 



18 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

ject for me to cover. What there is left of me is present to bow in reverence 
and love not only to the Daughters of the Republic, but to the patriots of the 
Republic and those who so nobly followed in their wake. Anj-thing I can say 
on this occasion will only mar it, for there are few Avho can do as my friend 
Judge Kittrell. He is an artist; he uses beautiful language; he has disclosed 
the past fully, and left nothing for me to say. 

My great subject in every speech I have been making in Texas, whether at 
Sunday school picnics. Fourth of July celebrations or banquets, has been 
against the division of the grand old State of Texas. That thunder has all 
gone. [Applause.] I am here because I appreciate the invitation extended 
me by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. My presence is not necessary 
to aid them in their efforts to commemorate the deeds of the fathers of the 
country. Their reputation will live as long as the world lasts. There were 
600 men against 8,000,000 in that historic time, and they will always live in 
the memory of the people of Texas. . 

That shaft rises to the memory of those two men and their deeds in this 
cou^tr3^ 

David G. Burnet I knew personally from the year 1836 to the time when 
he was buried in another cemetery, not far from where I am now standing. 
Burnet was not a war man — not a soldier. He came to Texas as a soldier, but 
was truly a civilian. In those days we had a great many great men — before I 
came. The trouble was, some of them wanted to be too great. I am not giv- 
ing you a history of Texas, for I have only ten minutes to talk. David G. 
Burnet was the first President of the Republic of Texas, and, ladies and 
gentlemen, if you will read every history of Texas, he had a hard row to 
travel. There Avas a certain colonel, whose name I won't mention, but I guess 
you all know him [Colonel Millard.] His regiment had a meeting, and Mil- 
lard was ordered to arrest President Burnet for treason, while he was President 
and doing the best he could. When those fool soldiers sent Millard there, he 
got out awfully quick. 

When Burnet was reviewing a treaty he had made with Santa Anna, a 
young man from North Carolina told him Santa Anna should be sent out of the 
country, as there was a crowd Avho wanted to hang him. He was at last gotten 
out of the country. If I had been there I would have been with the crowd 
that wanted to hang him. [Laughter.] Burnet withstood all that. He then 
ordered an election for the presidency, and Avrote a short letter and thanked the 
people for what they had done for him, and told them to prepare to establish a 
regular garrison and elect a new President, and he would step down and out. 
He turned the garrison over under these circumstances, and not like the fellow 
I knew in Iowa. 

Burnet was a near neighbor of mine in the days gone by. Do you know 
that some of the newspapers have been saying that this monument was to 
Sherman and Lamar ? And I did not know until to-day that it was for Bur- 
net, and I do not knoAv what else to say about Burnet. 

General Sherman and I were intimate friends, and that's all I'm going to 
say. He came here before I did. Sidney Sherman left his business and home 
to help Texas in the struggle. Although barely known, he commanded the 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SI/ERA/AN. 1!> 

cavalry, 68 strong, ami met an army representing 8,000,000 of people, headed 
by Santa Anna, and expected to win a nation. A good many years ago I was 
in New York, and met Jim Britton of the Texas cavalry, who had jnst got out 
of prison. He said, "Did it ever occur to you how we got licked in the late 
war? I'll tell you. They have more 'bus drivers in New York than we had 
men in the Confederate army." Sherman with 68 cavalrymen fought these 
fellows (but Mexicans can stand killing mighty well), and retired. The next 
day he led the famous left wing of the army. He was the first man who raised 
the cry of " Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!" The Mexicans when 
they heard that cry began to think that the terrible fate would be meted out to 
them which they had meted out at those battles, and they took to flight. And 
we won, secirriug for Texas independence and freedom. Sherman acted in all 
this as a leading spirit. 

When San Jacinto was Avon the independence of Texas was assured, and 
men of war became men of peace. General Sherman then walked into civil 
life, and it is to him that we are indebted for the idea of the entrance here of 
the iron horse. He started the first Texas railroad, and the first whistle that 
sounded from a locomotive in the State got its original inspiration from him. 
Mr. Sherman had started Huntington's road. 

A great many people think I was at the battle of San Jacinto. I did not 
come to Texas until after the battle. I did not come, like a great many men, 
armed, equipped, and prepared to fight Mexicans. I came in search of a truant 
brother, who came before for that purpose. I'll help the boys out in future. 
The reporters always get my speeches mixed up. I am often asked if I was at 
the battle of San Jacinto, because I am secretary and treasurer of the veterans, 
and handle the money. I say to them: "I am sorry now that I Avas not at that 
battle, for if I had been my Texas record would now be complete. If I had 
known so few of you would have been killed, I would have been there." 

All are indebted to the Daughters of the Republic for the establishment of 
their present chapters, which will certainly tend to keep up the patriotic senti- 
ment. Texas must not be divided, and to the Daughters of the Republic, to 
their children and their children's children, is left the duty to prevent it. 

Then Eev. W. X. Scott, pastor of tlie First Presbyterian 
church, delivered the closing prayer. 

There were about 2000 people in attendance, and the whole 
scene had a military appearance and was conceded to be one of 
the grandest events ever held in Galveston. 



THE MONUMENT. 

The monument is designed after the style adopted for all large 
monuments of ancient times, and which still prevails in the 
present times, the most notable examples being the Wentworth 



20 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

in Chicago and the General Wool monument in Utica, K. Y.; 
the spires of these are forty feet long and are monoliths. 

The style is that known as the obelisk, composed of base, 
sub-base, die and spire. 

The monument selected by the Daughters of the Eepublic of 
Texas has a base 4 feet 6 inches square, 1 foot 6 inches higli, 
with cut wash on the upper edges; the four sides are rock face, 
that is, just as they are quarried, no chisel being used on them, 
which illustrates the rugged heroes, the foundation of the great 
State of Texas. 

The second base is clean cut and molded on the upper edges. 
On two faces in polished and raised letters are the names 
'■ ' Burnet, " ' ^ Sherman. ' ' 

The die has the front faces polished and is molded, a band of 
stars traced in the polish and encompassing in unbroken circle 
the four sides, signifies the complete circle of all those heroes 
who were instrumental in wresting from her foes that liberty 
which has been handed down to Texans and which they cele- 
brated yesterday. The die has three inscriptions in sunk Gothic 
letters. On one side is one to President Burnet: 

DAVID G. BURNET, 
First President of the Republic of Texas. 

Born April 4. 1799; Died Dec. 5, 1870. 

To the right of Burnet's is that of General Sherman : 

SIDNEY SHERMAN, 

Commander of the Left Wing of the Army at the 

Battle of San Jacinto. 

Born July 23, 1805; Died Aug. 1, 1873. 

On the back is the following inscription : 

ERECTED BY THE 

Sidney Sherman Chapter, Daughters of the 

Republic of Texas. 

March 2. 1891. 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 21 

The spire is clean cut and each side near the top has one 
large polished star; the spire terminates in an apex 23 feet from 
the ground. The monument is set with the four corners to the 
four cardinal x>oints, and from its position in the lot the names 
and inscriptions of both Burnet and Sherman face east and to 
the front of the walk. 

The granite used is of a close texture, free from iron and of a 
bluish grey color, and was specially selected to endure this salt, 
humid atmosphere. 



5l7ort fjistorical Skctclics. 



PRESIDENT D. G. BURNET. 

David G. Buruet was the son of William Burnet of Newark, N. J., where 
he was born in 1 799. After receiving a liberal education he entered the count- 
ing house of Kobinson & Hartshorn in New York in 1805. His tastes, hoAvever, 
were not in accord with the dull routine of a clerk's life, and in 18(K) he en- 
tered, under General Miranda, in the expedition for the independence of 
Spanish America. Upon the failure of this expedition he returned to his home 
in New York, where he remained until 1817, when he moved to Natchitoches, 
La. His lungs becoming afiected, and following the advice of his physicians, 
he went among the Indians, with whom he remained, following their mode of 
life, for nearly two years, when he went to Cincinnati, Ohio. In 18"26 he came 
to Texas and at once became an active participant ia. her affairs. He went to 
Saltillo, where he entered into a contract with the government of Coahuila and 
Texas for the colonization of the latter State. This contract came to naught on 
account of the bad management of the company to whom he intrusted it. Ee- 
turning to New York, he married and came back to Texas in 1831 with his 
bride, and they narrowly escaped a watery grave by the vessel in which they 
made the voyage becoming disabled as she was approaching Galveston. In 
1833 he was elected a delegate to the convention at San Felipe and was a lead- 
ing member in its deliberations. In 1834 he was appointed judge of the 
municipality of Austin. When the oppressive acts of Santa Anna drove the 
people of Texas to resistance to his tyranny, Judge Burnet took an early and 
decided stand in favor of the independence of Texas. 

In 1836 he was elected President ad interim of the Eepublic oi" Texas, and 
in 1838, upon the election of Mirabeau B. Lamar as Presideut, Judge Burnet 
was elected Vice Pi'esideut of the Republic. Upon the expiration of his term 



22 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

of office as Vice President be lived for many years in the quiet seclusion of liis 
home near the San Jacinto river. In 1846 he was made Secretary of State, 
which office he held until the close of Governor Henderson's administration. In 
1866 he was elected to the United States Senate by the Texas Legislature, but 
was not admitted to his seat in that body. In 1868 he paid a \isit to the home 
of his birth in Newark, N. J., and after a few mouths spent there he returned 
to Texas, where he died in 1870. 

John Henry Browu, in his recently published history of Texas, gives the 
followiug explanation why, of all the able and prominent men in Texas, David 
G. Burnet w^as elected President ad interim of the Republic: 

"In the first place he was eminently qualified to fill the position, and in the 
second place he was connected by ties of consanguinity with some of the best 
known and most influential families in the United States, and his selection, it 
was thought, would do much to strengthen the Texan cause in the confidence 
of the people of that country. He was a nati^■e of New Jersey and a son of a 
surgeon in the Continental army (a friend of Washington), and was descended, 
through his mother, from the Gouverneur and Morris families of New Jersey 
and New York. His elder brother, Jacob Burnet, had been eminent as Chief 
Justice of Ohio and United States Senator from that State, and Isaac, another 
brother, was then the very popular Mayor of Cincinnati. David G. Burnet 
was a man of unimpeachable morals and deep religious convictions. He was in 
the prime of life. His courage and address (proved in youth under Miranda 
and in South America and during a sojourn of two years among the Comanches 
and later on numerous occasions in Texas) were well known. And furthermore, 
his conspicuous talents and patriotic devotion to Texas had wou for him the 
unbounded confidence of the people." 



GENERAL SIDNEY SHERMAN. 

General Sidney Sherman was born in Marlborough, Mass., July ii3, 1805,. 
and died in Galveston August 1, 1873. His ancestors came from Wales and 
settled in America in 16^1. He was descended from Hon. Roger Sherman, 
long the Nestor of the American Congress, and was the last male member ol' the 
Texas family. His only bi'other, David Sherman, died on San Jacinto day, 
1839, his wife dying the same day, and both licing consigned to the same 
grave. The only son of General Sherman, a lieutenant in the Confederate 
army, was killed in the battle of Galveston on January 1, 1863. 

The early life of General Sherman was devoted to mercantile pursuits. 
In 1831 he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, thence to Newport, Kentucky. He was 
the first indi^•idual to manufacture sheet lead west of the Alleghany mount- 
ains, and was one of an association that first put into successful operation an 
establishment for the manuliicture of bagging for cotton by machinery. While 
engaged in the active proseciition of this business the tidings of the contest be- 
tAveeu the hardy pioneers of Texas and the troops of Mexico Avere heralded 
throughout tlie United States. The generous spirit of Sherman kindled with 
enthusiasm and he zealously espoused a cause which, contemplated under the 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 23 

most favorable aspect, might have intimidated the boldest heart. Notwith- 
standing the few inducements oftered and the little encouragement to bo de- 
rived from a calm survey of the relative strength and resources of the com- 
batants, many undaunted spirits volunteered, generously giving their services 
and fortunes to a cause environed with dangers, which, if unsuccessful, would 
terminate in imprisonment and death. 

By a happy coincidence General Sherman commanded at the time a volun- 
teer company by commission from the Governor of Kentucky, which aflbrded 
him facilities for raising troops for the service of Texas. He organized a com- 
pany of fifty men, requiring each volunteer to sign stringent articles of subor- 
dination before they could be enrolled. Some flinched from the energy and 
rigidity of the requirements, while those who signed the military compact dis- 
cerned in it evidences which gave promise of a sagacious and able commander. 
Amid the snows of winter he established a regular camp and enforced dis- 
cipline as strict as if in the fiice of the enemy. 

On the last day of December, 1835, he embarked on a steamer from Cin- 
cinnati. His men were well armed, handsomely uniformed, and with a full 
supply of ammunition and provisions. On the day of departure, ndtAvithstand- 
ing a violent snow storm, the United States troops at Newport barracks turned 
out, and thousands of citizens of all ages and both sexes lined the river banks 
to honor the occasion and manifested their sympathy in the heroic enterprise 
by enthusiastic and repeated cheers. Amid tears and tou.ching tarewells, 
waving flags and beating drums, the bow of the decorated steamer was turned 
toward the setting sun and passed down the great river with a company of 
brave volunteers, whose subsequent trials and triumphs form a splendid chap- 
ter in the proud history of Texas. 

Sherman and his company debarked at Natchitoches, Louisiana, and 
marched at once to Nacogdoches, Texas, and thence to Washington, on the 
Brazos. There he found all confusion. The governor and lieutenant governor 
were at deadly feud ; the convention had not assembled ; the brave Travis and 
his heroic band, surrounded by an overwhelming force, called for aid from the 
beleaguered walls of the Alamo. The people were enthusiastic and determined, 
but without arms or organization, and no one was present to instruct or lead 
them. Sherman paraded his company and called upon the citizens to volun- 
teer and march on the following day to the relief of the Alamo, after which 
service he declared his intention to return with his company to the United 
States if the independence of Texas was not speedily declared by the conven- 
tion, then about to assemble. 

On arriving at Gonzales he found about 200 citizen volunteers — a force 
totally insufficient to justify an attempt to break through the besieging Mexi- 
can forces, some 7000 strong. Fourteen days were consumed in concentrating 
men and supplies, when General Houston arrived and assumed command. On 
the ensuing day the first regiment of Texas volunteers was organized, and Sher- 
man nominated for the colonelcy. This he declined in favor of General Burle- 
son, an old and tried warrior. Sherman was elected lieutenant colonel. On 
the evening of the same day the news was received that the Alamo had fallen 
and its brave defenders been indiscriminately slaughtered. 



24 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

The army retreated to the Brazos, where the second regiment was organized 
and Sherman elected to comiiiand it. On the Colorado, being detached from 
the main body of the army, he endeavored to obtain permission to attack Gen- 
eral Sesma, who was camped on the opposite bank of the river, on the spot 
where the city of Columbus now stands, and thus save Fannin and his com- 
rades from inglorious slaughter. Sherman fell back with the retreating army, 
which was determined to make a last stand at the first strategic point that 
should be reached on the line of the march. During the retreat Sherman dis- 
played all the soldierly qualities which at such a crisis were necessary to pro- 
mote enthusiasm and preserve the army from demoralization. He was equal 
to every emergency. On the retreat from the Colorado he an as ordered to put 
the army in marching order, and by direction of the commander in chief, per- 
sonally superintended the dangerous crossing of the Brazos. On April 20, 1836, 
he led a squadron of cavalry in an attack upon a detachment of the enemy that 
occupied a position between the hostile camps. 

In the battle on the 21st he commanded the extreme left of the Texas line, 
and was the lii'st to strike the enemy, shouting at the critical moment the talis- 
mauic battle cry, " Remember Goliad and the Alamo!" which was prolonged 
in fierce enthusiasm from left to right by the advancing line. It was a day of 
vengeance and retribution. The victory was overwhelming and complete, and 
in its consummation Sherman acted a conspicuous and splendid part. But 
when the perilous battle was over, he turned from the triumph to stay the tide 
of violence and slaughter, which, however righteously it may have overtaken 
the enemy, he mercifully endeavored to prevent. Sherman possessed boldness 
and valor in the crisis of danger, and made humane and vigorous efforts to re- 
strain excess in the hour of triumph. If he felt that violence Avas necessary in 
war, mercy and moderation were not less wise and essential in establishing an 
enduring peace. 

After remaining several months with the army in the west, and finding 
that the enemy did not return, he tendered his resignation, which President 
Burnet refused to accept, but gave him a commission as colonel in tlie regular 
service with orders to enlist his men in the United States. When about to 
leave his companions in arms the Secretary of War presented him with the stand 
of colors which he had brought to the country, accompanied with the following 
communication: 

"REruBLic OF Texas, War Department, \ 
"August 6, 1886. J 

' ' This stand of colors, presented by the ladies of Newport, Kentucky, to 
Captain Sidney Sherman, is the same which triumphantly waved over the 
memorable battlefield of Sau Jacinto, and is by the government presented to 
the lady of Colonel Sidnej- Sherman as a testimonial of his gallant conduct on 
that occasion. u^ Sobierville, Secretary of War. 

Approved : 

"David G. Burnet, President." 

Colonel Sherman's health was much impaired by exposure and fatigue in 
the army, and before reaching Kentucky he was seriously ill for many weeks. 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 2o 

Notwithstaikling his condition he sncceeded in sending out some troops and a 
quantity of clothing for those in the field, who were extremely destitute. 

In January, 1836, he returned to Texas with his family and settled upon San 
Jacinto bay. In 1842 he was elected a representative to Congress from Harris 
county, and was appointed chairman of the military committee. He intro- 
duced a bill providing for the election of a major general of militia and the 
protection of the frontier. The lull was vetoed by President Houston, but 
became a law by a constitutional majority in both houses of Congress. General 
Rusk was the first elected to that position. General Sherman succeeded him at 
the next election by the popular vote, which position he held until the annexa- 
tion of Texas to the United States. 

On his retirement from military service Sherman lost none of the energies 
which had characterized him in the field, but displayed in the occupation of 
private life useful enterprise and creative talents of a valuable order. 

In 184(5 he conceived the idea of rebuilding the town of Harrisburg, which 
had been destroyed by Santa Anna in 1836. With this view he purchased a 
large interest in the townsite, and 4000 acres of land adjoining it. He then 
proceeded to Boston, wiiere he enlisted capitalists and organized a company to 
build a railway from Harrisburg westward. The difficulties to contend Avith 
were neither few nor small. The country was new and but imperfectly known 
abroad; the population and agricultural productions were inconsiderable and 
labor of every character diflicult to obtain. Yet his unabated perseverance re- 
moved obstacles and success finally crowned the enterprises — the rebuilding of 
the town and the construction of the first railway in Texas. General Sherman 
was president of the road, which was called the Buft'alo Bayou, Brazos and 
Colorado Railway Company. The road was started at Harrisburg, Texas, and 
was built to Alleyton and Columbus, and is now a part of the Southern Pacific 
system. The first locomotive ever received in Texas was named General 
Sherman, in his honor, and what is left of it is now in Harrislmrg, Texas. The 
shrill whistle of the " General Sherman " was the first glad sound of the loco- 
motive that broke upon the solitude of Texas forests and aroused to new life the 
slumbering energies of the hardy people. This locomotive was the first that 
appeared west of the Sabine and the second west of the Mississippi — one at St. 
Louis was introduced a few months before. Thus the name of Sherman will 
not only be remembered as a chivalrous soldier, whose best years were spent 
in the service of Texas, but as the father of a railroad system that has conferred 
inestimable blessings upon the people. 

In chronicling the events in the closing years of his life, it is 1)ut a record 
of successive misfortunes. In 1853 he lost a valuable sawmill by fire, and sub- 
sequently his dwelling at Harrisburg, then one of the finest buildings in the 
State, was also burned. Being thus rendered homeless, he sent his family to 
Kentucky and removed to the railroad office, which was shortly afterward also 
burned. His remaining po.ssessions and valualile papers, which he had been 
accumulating for thirty years, were destroyed. General Sherman was one of 
the unfortunate passengers on the ill-fated steamer "Farmer," which exploded 
her boilers within a few miles of Galveston, occasioning the loss of some thirty 
or forty lives, and seriously injuring many others. He was thrown from his 



26 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

berth, with a portion of the wreck, some hundred yards into the water, and 
though injured, succeeded in saving himself on the fragments of the wheel- 
house. 

Like most of the soldiers and statesmen who participated in the early 
struggles of the country, he derived little material benefit from its redemption. 

In 1835, on April 27, General Sherman married Miss Catherine Isabel Cox, 
of Frankfort, Kentucky, who was distinguished for great moral worth, intel- 
lectual accomplishments and personal beauty. At his death, four daughters, 
grown to womanhood, survived him, his wife and sou aud one daughter having 
preceded him to the grave. By an historic propriety the remains of General 
Sherman should rest in the same cemetery by the side of the first and last Pres- 
idents of the Reptiblic of Texas. They are inseparably connected in the inher- 
itance of a common glory, and they had been friends in early life, closely bound 
together by public and private ties. The children of his marriage were: Sid- 
ney A. Sherman, killed at the battle of Galveston, January 1, 18(33. Caroline 
M. Sherman, now living in Galveston, the wife of J. M. O. Menard. Matilda 
Belle Sherman, now living in Houston, Texas, the wife of . idge "William E. 
Kendall. Susan Florence Sherman, who married George O. Cherry, and died 
in Galveston May 16, 1872. Cornelius Fenwick Sherman, who died in infancy, 
August 8, 1853. Sally Lenna Sherman, who married the Hon. John T. Brady, 
of Houston, Texas, and died April 22, 188-), at Houston. Lucy Kate Sherman, 
now living in Kansas City, Missouri, who married Mr. Louis W. Craig. David 
Burnet Sherman, who died in infancy, July 30, 1863. Hence the only children 
of General Sherman now living are Mrs. J. M. O. Menard of Galveston, Mrs. 
William E. Kendall of Houston and Mrs. L. W. Craig of Kansas City, who re- 
turned here to witness the ceremony of unveiling the monument erected by the 
Daughters of the Republic. 

When the gallant ensign received the fiag presented to General Shernuin's 
company at Cincinnati he asked the fair donor for a gage of battle. She took 
from her fair hand a wMiite kid glove aud threw it at the feet of the ensign, 
Ijidding him guard it well and carry it to glory. The glove was placed upon 
the flagstaff" and carried into the fight at San Jacinto, but in the confusion of 
the battle it Avas lost. The flag is now in the possession of Mrs. Menard, and 
is kept in a glass case, having long since crumbled into decay, like the gallant 
members of the company who followed it. It is the only flag that waved upon 
the memorable battlefield of San Jacinto, and will lie presented to the State of 
Texas, to be kept in the archives of this historic State. 

At the funeral of General Sherman on the 2d of August, 1873, the following 
were pall bearers: Henr^^ Sampson, A. C. McKeen, E. D. Johnson, Colonel 
George Flournoy, J. P. Davie, E. B. Settle, Oscar Parish, C. K. Hughes ; N. B. 
Yard, marshal. 

BURNET AND SHERMAN. 

The monument wliich was to-day unveiled in the presence of thcusands of 
people will always stand as a glowing tribute to the great and mighty warriors 
who fought for Texas independence, David G. Burnet and General Sidney 



TO DAVID G. BURA'ET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. 27 

Sherman. It was a new day in Texas history. This is tlie first statue tliat has 
ever been unveiled in the liistory of the grand State of Texas, and s])eaks in 
glowing tril)ute to tlie loyalty of the noble women who are eonneeted with that 
grand organization, the Daughters of the Kepublic of Texas. The funds with 
which this handsome monument was erected were raised principally by small 
donations which were raised by the Daughters of the Kepublic, and the idea 
attracted the attention of Henry Rosenberg, a grand philanthropist, who, 
seeing the noble et!brtsof the women of Texas to commemorate the dead heroes, 
betiueathed the handsome sum of $50,000 to erect a monument in Galveston to 
the heroes of Texas independence. 

There were present at this grand event some of the most noted and pow- 
erful men of the State of Texas, and by their sides were their wives and daugh- 
ters, to whom the scene was all new, but to many an old warrior on the scene 
it recalled vividly to mind the days when shot and shell were screaming over 
their heads, killing and maiming their comrades on the battlefield, when their 
gallant ofiicers led them on to the noble victory that helped to make Texas the 
grand, free State'\^ is to-day. It recalled the terrible days of April, IS^tj, when 
David Burnet and General Sidney Sherman so fearlessly risked their lives for 
the Republic of Texas, and won. It freshens the memory of that terrible day 
when the battle of the Alamo was at its height, when Fannin, the brave and 
gallant warrior, and his noble band were brutally massacred. And now the 
daughters of these gallant soldiers have erected monuments to the memory of 
the fallen heroes. To-day Galveston and all her citizens are proud of the ftict 
that the noble Daughters of the Republic have conferred this great honor upon 
them of unveiling this tribute to Burnet and Sherman. 



CTn €Ioqucnt (Lributc 



• The following eloquent tribute to the Daughters of the Re- 
public is from the pen of Dr. J. W. Lockhart, a distinguished 
Texas veteran: 

Your achievement of to-day ought to make Texas proud and Galveston city 
Especially so, as being the first to organize and the first to erect a monument to 
those brave men, David G. Burnet and General Sidney Sherman, who so fear- 
lessly risked their lives in the cause of Texas freedom. 

They and others on April 21, 1836, that fatal day to the Mexican host, 
arose with the sun. It Avas a day bright with hope, but, as all other days are 
to us, a blank as to what will transpire before the going down of the sun. No 
doubt fear and hope mingled in each breast, as it was known that something 



28 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF 7 HE MONIMENT 

decisive was to happen in the near future; that a battle was to be Ibuglit none 
doubted, and no fear would have entered the breast of any, Jnit the carnage of 
the Ahxmo and the l)loody massacre of P'annin and his l)and was fresh in their 
memory to steel their muscles. By the results of these they knew their fate if 
perchance the battle should go against them. It was fought and won by the 
Texans. Perhaps if the veil could have been lifted it would have been seen, as 
it was by the young man when good old Elijah prayed that the eyes of the 
youth might be opened, who, when he saw the host of heaven encamped around 
them, exclaimed: "I perceive there are more for us than against us." Verily 
their hearts must have l)een strengthened ])y some unseen power, for it looked 
worse than madness for such a small army to tight against such great odds. 
They fought, and won. "Victory perched on their banner before the going 
down of the sun. Never was such a battle fought with such odds against the 
victors. Their cause was just; the God of battles was with them. The cry of 
" Remember the Alamo !" was heard mingled with the sweet strains of their 
battle song, "Come to the Bower," and so aroused all their latent energy and 
infused in them such strength that nothing could resist their onward march. 
Santa Anna's brea.stworks were as mere chatf to be scattered by the wind. 
The word "Charge!" given by their great commander, echoed and repeated 
by the brave Sherman and others, was caught up and repeated along the line 
as the brave little baud bore down on the enemy with such courage as never 
man saw before, and, when they had gained the breastwcn-ks of the ]\Iexicans 
"Charge! " came again running down the line like an electric spark from the 
great commanders, and in an instant they had leaped the breastworks, and in 
hand-to-hand combat the fighting grew furious and raged for a short time Avith 
the force of Niagara's cataract. Finally the Mexican lines began to waver, and 
then came the rout and the finish and the establishment of independence of the 
great State of Texas. 

And yoii, now, daughters of these brave men, have formed organizations 
all over the State for the purpose of erecting monuments to their memory. 
Though the corporeal j)arts of men are made to decay and lade from the sight 
of those who loved them most, their names and deeds need not decay, but can 
be preserved by suitable monuments to commemorate them. On you is the 
noble self-assumed duty of showing to the world that the names of the heroes 
of Texas and their deeds of daring shall never die. You have a great work be- 
fore you; then push forward to its consummation and your children and chil- 
dren's children will rise up and bless you for preserving the names of their 
ancestoi-s in granite blocks which will never perish. Do not become discour- 
aged, for woman's power can and will ever be felt over man. In the very 
dawn of creation, when the great and loving God created the Garden of Eden, 
he placed therein a man, whom he called Adam, and for a helpmeet Eve, and 
it was not long before her influence was felt by Adam, and it is said that the 
fruits of it has lasted to this day. I recollect hearing the gifted Rev. J. E. 
Cams pi'each a sermon on this subject at a camp meeting held in Washington 
county many years ago, in which he said that he felt no grievance against old 
Mother Eve, fiir, if she had not partaken of the fruit of the tree of knowledge 
there would have been no intelligence in the world. That perhajis Adam 



TO DAVID G. BURNET AXD SIDXEY SHERMAN. 21) 

would have wandered in the garden, worhl without end, in the same condition 
in which he was created — a mere automaton 

Woman's power has been felt in all lands and in all governments. Nearly 
all great achievements have been forecast by women. The discovery of this 
continent was largely due to the sagacity of woman. Columbus for many years 
traveled around from court to court, in his native and foreign countries, a mere 
mendicant, beseeching and imploring the crowned heads of Europe for a sum 
of money sufticient to purchase a fevv small vessels ibr the ]nirpose of discov- 
ering a new route to. the east, I)ut only to meet with i'el>ulf, ridicule and scorn. 
It was reserved for the sagacious mind of Queen Isabella to foresee the great- 
ness of the undertaking, and for this she pawned her jewels for the enterprise 
and lived to see the verification other prediction. It was for Joau of Arc, who 
has been recently sainted by Pope Leo XIII, to rescue France from the grip of 
England when her dauphin was shut up within the walls of his city of refuge, 
trembling with fear of the armies of England. In reading Pepys' Diary, 
written early in the seventeenth century, we find the English government in a 
most corrupt state; almost all manner of crime was carried on by the king 
himself, and by the ofSBcers of his court. I fear there was little improvement 
up to the time of the commencement of the reign of the present good Victoria. 
On her accession to power she put an end to the vicious habits and debauchery 
which had hitherto held high revelry around the court of England. Since her 
reign began England has flourished as she never did before. The great Na- 
poleons star, after his shameful treatment of his devoted wife and adviser, 
Josephine, began to wane and sink toward the horizon, and on the bloody field 
of Waterloo Avent down to rise no more. 

The doings of many more of the historical women of the old world might be 
enumerated, but I have cited enough to show you what woman has done in 
the past and can do in the future, for her power has increased year by j^ear, 
and now she stands in the front rank of the arts, literature and sciences. In 
nearly all of these the maiden stands shoulder to shoulder with her brother, 
and acknowledges him not as her superior. 

Leaving the old world, we will cite some of the historical characters of the 
new. We will pass over the heroic mothers of the revolutionary war and cite 
you to one of more recent date— ^one who caused more sorro^v, and at the same 
time more rejoicing, than any other historical character in modern times. I 
allude to Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe. She and her little book, "Uncle Tom's 
Cabin," hastened the period for firing the shot "whose echo," as some one 
has said, " reached around the Avorld," and came near rending this government 
in tAvain. Her book caused creeks and rivers to run with blood; it drenched 
the land Avith tears of sorroAv; it divided hitherto peaceful abodes, and left the 
widow and orphans alone as tenants. It arrayed brother against brother and 
father against son, as Avas the case Avith Captain Lee on the side of the 
Confederates, and his son. Lieutenant Lee, Avho Avas killed in the battle of Gal- 
veston on board the Harriet Lane. Through all the cruelties, hardships and 
depriA-ations of the most terrific struggle the Avorld has ever knoAvn, the citizens 
of the United States Avere called for five long years to pass, at a cost of the 
liA'es of several millions of soldiers and l)illions of monev. The result was the 



30 UNVEILING CEREMONIES OF THE MONUMENT 

liberation ox" between 6,000,000 and 8,000,000 of rejoicing slaves and the pre- 
servation of the American Union. My God, at what a sacrifice ! 

Now all this took place scarcely thirty years since, yet the recuperative 
power of humanity is so great that one rarely ever hears the great civil war 
spoken of except by the old participants in their annual conclaves. To the 
rising generation it is almost as a sealed book. The North and the South have 
long since shaken hands across the Idoody chasm, which was filled with the best 
blood of both contending parties, and now the proud flag of our fothers floats 
as of yore over the South as well as the North. Since the establishing of iieace 
the magnanimity of the United States toward its fallen soldiers stands out in 
bold relief. Her officers have sent men oiit in the highways and byways to 
hunt up the bodies of their dead soldiers, and wherever found, have carried 
them to some neatly kept cemetery and there deposited them in graves with 
neat head and foot stones to mark their resting place. Magnificent monuments 
have been erected to their field officers in pviblic places in their cities. Every- 
thing is done to ameliorate the conditions and feelings of their families. This 
is as it should be. The South can not do all these things for its honored dead on 
account of poverty. Yet we will think of them and love them in their lonely 
sleeping places. 

Now the question arises, what has the great State of Texas done for her 
illustrious dead — those who so valiantly risked their lives by facing a foe twice 
their number, to secure her vast and fertile domain? To her shame, nothing, 
outside a mere pittance — hardly enough to erect one decent monument. 
Daughters of the Eejniblic, arise in your might! Lay siege to the capitol at the 
next sitting of the liCgislature and ask the members there to wipe out this burn- 
ing shame. 

I have tried to show you how woman has influenced the course of e\cnts 
in the past. Why should you not do so now ? I have been told that the 
Legislature has the power to make donations of the puljlic domain to per- 
petuate the memory of her heroes. Then have some of it before it is all ex- 
hausted. Tell the legislatoi-s that the graves of your ancestors lie unmai'ked, 
unhonored and unprotected, and in some instances feeding grounds of cattle, 
horses and swine. Hold up to them the pictures of the lonely widows and 
orphans who were made .so by the tomakawk, the piercing arrow and scalping 
knife of the savage; the widows who in the twilight of evening sat in their 
dimly-lighted, cheerless abodes and gathered around their knees for their 
evening devotions their little children, hungry, perhaps, and in tattered gar- 
ments, and after going over the Lord's Prayer with the eldest, would take the 
younger one into her lap and teach it to say: "Now I lay me down to sleep;" 
and when it had lisped the last line, would look up into its mother's face and 
say: " Mamma, when will papa come home?" Think how the question fVom 
the child's unsuspecting little lips would tear afresh the ))leeding heart- wound, 
and bringing back the memory of the fearful yell and the hissing arrow that 
took papa away forever, a\ ould cause the hot, scalding tears to run down her 
pale, careworn cheeks, and between her choking sobs bring the answer, "Never, 
never!" when from the fullness of her heart .she could say no more. Such 
pictures as this could often be seen in Texas in the early days. Such was the 



TO DAJVD G. BURNET AND SIDNEY SHERMAN. \\\ 

case of Mrs. Smith of Austin, Avhose iuisliaiid was tcilU'd near liis lionie, and his 
little hoy taken hy the Comanehes and kept for two years hefore his heart- 
broken mother ever heard from him again. 

I have been trying to show yoir all along what woman has borne and done; 
now I want to speak of what woman can do. To-day will show to the pcoi)h' 
or Texas what you can do. The unveiling of your monument dedicated to 
heroes of Texas independence, General Sherman, the patriot soldier, and David 
(>. Burnet, the pati'iot statesman, will inaugurate a new era in Texas history. . 
It will 1)6 a day long to be remembered, the unveiling of the first statue that 
the public has ever been invited to witness in this State, and of which Galves- 
ton and the whole State has cause to be proud. 

I understand that the fund.s with which this shaft was erected were raised 
principally from small donations, and. Daughters of the Eepul)lic, little did 
you think when you began Avorking so slowly and tediously that you were 
striking the chords that led to the heart of that great philanthropist, Henry 
Kosenberg. He, no doubt, seeing your eflbrts in behalf of those you hold so dear 
opened his big, generous heart and made his princely donation of §50,000 to 
his adopted city, whereby might be erected a monument to commemorate the 
lives and names of that heroic band which opened up a new country in which 
he, a poor foreign youth, could come and live, and by economy, industry and 
prudence amass the great fortune which he left behind. Now, be it remem- 
bered, that at the proper time, like a faithful son, he did not forget his adopted 
mother, the city of Galveston, but bestowed liberally of his substance on her 
wants and those of her children l)y an additional donation of a public free 
school and other noble benefactions. Noav if this stranger, only an adopted 
citizen, could give so liberally of his wealth to the city of his adoption, why 
should not the great, wealthy State of Texas give of her substance, which was 
X^urchased by the blood of her heroes, and give liberally, too, to the glorious en- 
terprise of commemorating their names and history? Texans, see to it that 
your public servants give not only of the State's means, but encoirrage in 
other ways to this noble end the Daughters of the Eepublic, who have taken 
on themselves the loving labor of perpetuating tlie memories of those pati'iots 
who have gone and those who are now so rapidly passing away to join their 
friends over the river and are now resting under the shade of the trees beyond. 
God grant you may open your hearts to feel as these Daughters feel the im- 
portance of this undertaking, and that the blessing of heaven may rest on them 
individually and collectively and on their glorious enterprise is the sincere 
wish of an old Texan. 



